While wandering down Boulevard Beaumarchais on Le Marais side in Paris, we came across a small bookstore with a dim, inviting glow inside. It wasn’t part of any chain but clearly an independent shop with its own character and carefully chosen shelves.
This is Librarire du Globe, a destination for anyone in Paris with an interest in Russia. Bookstores of this kind are rare, so we decided that it deserves special attention—splitting our coverage into two posts, one for each floor of the shop. And if you’re curious to see what a Russian bookstore looks like back in Moscow, we’ve shared that experience as well – [link to post].
Enjoy some music while browsing.
The store isn’t just about Russian literary classics like Pushkin, Tolstoy, or Dostoevsky. Its shelves are impressively diversified: you’ll find contemporary Russian novels, travel literature, language-learning aids, and more.
In the front window of the bookstore, a sign discreetly states “нет войнe” which means “no wars” in Russian.
On a table, there are many books on Ukraine, mostly in French, presenting Ukraine’s identity, tracing how its past informs its present struggle, as well as voices of Russian and Ukrainian reflecting on war, resistance and survival.
They are selected for a French-speaking audience eager to understand the stakes beyond headlines.
A wide range of books on Soviet/Russian popular culture, science, fine art and history are presented.
The selection also includes books and postcards focused on stark and unsettling themes—ranging from Russia’s hard-labor prison camps (the gulag) and criminal tattoo culture to haunting images from the post-apocalyptic landscape of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Next to them are a clutch of books on the avant-garde works of Marc Chagall, El Lissitzky (our favorite artist in the Constructivist movement) and Kazimir Malevich.
Books on art shown in the window, include for example, the Morozov Brother’s art collection, Russian Ballet, Tarkovsky’s films, works by Vladimir Velickovic and Russian cuisine.
Apparently, Librairie du Globe is owned by Louison Éditions, which acquired the bookstore in 2016 and publishes French translations of Russian novels. A number of Noire novels are available at a very affordable 5 euros each. Click on the photo to see a close up of the titles.
Not sure how this rather startling art work relates to literature by authors of Russian descent, such as works by Vladimir Nabokov (American) and Irene Nemirovsky (French).
There is also a wide selection of French-language books that explore affairs in the Russian world.
A comfy sofa for browsing.
In a corner are shelves of translations of popular non-Russian works into Russian, such as thrillers by Stephen King, and sci-fi by Frank Herbert (i.e., Dune). It was a busy area of the bookstore.
Beside the counter manned by young friendly sales staff, a staircase descends to an eerie dimly lit space below—glimpsed only through a few glass bricks set into the shop’s street-level floor.
Don’t miss photos of this mysterious area of the bookstore in our next post.
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